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As a product discovered over 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the modest tin of Vaseline might not appear as an obvious target for digital platform algorithms.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a TikTok talking point has placed it at the forefront of an marketing transformation, in which large companies are investing heavily in content creators and putting fewer resources into promoting products in conventional outlets.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

Originally produced in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers rubbing their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Currently, a wave of content from users have recorded its extensive utilization in “everyday tips”.

It has been touted as a solution for polishing footwear or extending perfume longevity, and also a remedy for noisy doorways. Users have even applied it to combat the nuisance of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Capitalising on the Conversation

Detecting the product’s new life online, marketers at Unilever boosted the tips by tasking their in-house experts with verification and providing creators with the outcome data.

Suggestions that it lessened the burn from hot food on the lips were given the thumbs up. Similarly supported were ideas it could lengthen scent duration and rejuvenate purses. Claims that it would bleach teeth or lengthen eyelashes were debunked.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Billboards and TV ads would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. However, this online trend has persuaded leaders to dramatically increase investment in content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to inform business strategy has been dubbed “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, recently appointed, has suggested it is aiming to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on platform-based material.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

A leading Unilever executive, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was simply adapting to new ways of engaging audiences. She said participating on platforms “without killing the party” was crucial.

“What is the key to genuine brand integration? That’s always what we’ve been trying to do as brands, dating to when neighbors chatted over fences and sharing usage tips.

“We are witnessing a departure from a one-to-many model, where we would just transmit messages … Now it’s many conversations, many communities. The evolution of platform algorithms means that these communities feel niche, but they’re not.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by consumers, mentioned by individuals, that is how you can build trust and relevance. Creators are critical to that. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Revolutionary Change in Media

The strategy reflects dramatic transformations taking place in media consumption, with the youth demographic devoting greater hours to digital networks than legacy broadcast and print media.

The shift is reflected in drops in broadcast and newspaper ads. In the UK, ad revenues for leading TV channels have fallen by more than £600m in real terms since 2019.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

Additionally, it points to a media convergence as corporations essentially turn into content studios, collaborating with a multitude of digital creators to boost their products.

A commercial director at a major talent agency said: “Naturally, an exodus of attention from conventional channels and they are dedicating far more hours to Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are watching live TV or reading print.

“Numerous corporations inform us people trust recommendations from the personalities they subscribe to compared to commercial messages. That’s a consistent trend.”

He noted companies can reduce costs by targeting content creators over large-scale legacy ad buys, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to gauge performance.

This strategy is expanding. Marketing investment on digital creator partnerships is increasing four times faster than total media spending. In the US, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is expected to hit substantial figures in 2025.

The Enduring Power of Broadcast

Despite the huge changes, experts said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as TV channels continued to possess the influence to drive countrywide discourse.

Sykes said: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still events like the Super Bowl. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”